My Little Adventure into Seeing Patterns Everywhere
So, I was just wandering around the other day, honestly, feeling a bit stuck. You know how it gets? Couldn’t find anything interesting to point my camera at. Everything just looked… flat. I was almost ready to just pack it up and head home.
Then, I happened to glance down. Just some old brick paving on the sidewalk, nothing special. But the way the sun hit it, suddenly all these shadows made the repeating shapes pop. Boom. It just clicked. It wasn’t about the whole scene, it was about this little repeating bit right at my feet.
I crouched down, probably looked a bit weird doing it, and took a few shots. Didn’t think much of it at the time, just snapped away. Got home, loaded them onto the computer, and bam – those brick photos actually looked kinda cool. Way more interesting than anything else I’d shot that day.
Okay, Let’s Try This Pattern Thing For Real
That got me thinking. What other patterns are just lying around, waiting to be noticed? The next day, I went out again, but this time, my mission was different. I wasn’t looking for grand views; I was actively hunting for repetition.
- First, I started looking at buildings. Window panes, railings, even textures on concrete walls.
- Then I looked down again. Tiles, manhole covers (some have neat designs!), rows of parked bikes.
- Nature’s got tons too! Leaves on a branch, ripples in water, bark on a tree.
It’s funny, once you start looking, you see them everywhere. It’s like a switch flips in your brain.
Getting the Shot Right (Or Trying To)
Finding the pattern is one thing, getting a good picture is another. Here’s what I tried:
Get close: A lot of the time, filling the whole picture with just the pattern worked best. No distractions, just pure repetition. Forget the background sometimes.
Line it up: I tried to make sure the lines in the pattern were straight, either going across or up and down, unless I wanted a diagonal look. Sometimes getting perfectly parallel felt stronger.
Watch the light: Just like with those first bricks, light makes a huge difference. Side light can bring out texture, while flat light might make colours stand out more. I just played around with shooting the same pattern at different times or angles to see what happened.
Break the pattern?: Sometimes, having something interrupt the pattern looked cool too. Like one different coloured tile, or a leaf on a perfect grid. Gives the eye something to latch onto.
Honestly, I didn’t use any fancy gear. Most of this was just with my phone or my old trusty point-and-shoot. It’s really more about seeing than having expensive kit.
Anyway, that’s my little journey into pattern photography. It’s actually pretty fun and makes you look at everyday stuff completely differently. Give it a try next time you’re out and about, you might be surprised what you find right under your nose. It’s a good way to shake things up when you feel like you’re in a rut.
